Dreams and Shadows
by Nova Harman-Redfern
Summary: *Finished* A Night World vampire has fallen in love with a human girl. He’s falling apart trying to decide what to do about it. Will he break Night World law, despite the risk to his life and hers, to confess how he feels?
1. Part 1

Title: Dreams and Shadows  
Author: Nova  
Email: cryptorchid7@hotmail.com   
Spoilers: Basic Night World  
Disclaimer: The Night World and its concepts belong to LJS, everything else belongs to me.   
Rating: 15  
Summary: A Night World vampire has fallen in love with a human girl. He's falling apart trying to decide what to do about it. Will he break Night World law, despite the risk to his life and hers, to confess how he feels?  
Notes: feedback appreciated  
  
Part 1  
  
How unfair that it could never be. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. They all fall at my feet and do everything I want. But not her. She was different. I'm gorgeous, rich, popular, and smart. What the hell more could she want?  
  
Apparently more. I'm not even sure if she's noticed me. I'm not supposed to be noticing her, after all. I can't help myself. I'm so used to getting what I want all the time. This is also, technically...  
  
Well, all my friends would think I was out of my mind. All I'm supposed to feel is the thrill of the hunt. But this time it's so much more. God, maybe I need to see a psychiatrist.   
  
Then again, if she knew, could she accept the truth? She's probably crossed my path every day and night since kindergarten. How come I'm only just noticing her now?  
  
It's too complicated. I don't know what to do.  
  
* * *  
The feeling of being watched was creepy. Cathy wasn't used to it. She tried hard to ignore it, but it was hard.  
  
"Are you *nuts*?" her best friend Helen was eyeing her as if she was insane. "That's Cassanova Redfern!"  
  
"If she had some brains she wouldn't be interested in someone who calls himself Cassanova!" her other best friend Tori snorted. Tori was the brains of the group. Helen was the boy crazy bimbo. Cathy considered herself to be the normal one.   
  
She gave into temptation and looked behind her, trying to figure out what was so great about Cassanova Redfern. They guy was tall and muscular, a nice face and a quirky, charming smile, shoulder length blond hair and shiny blue eyes,  
  
Not really her taste. Guys had to have something to offer more than looks and money to get her attention. She didn't have dates very often. She preferred ordinary guys rather than the popular snobs who thought they could smile at any girl and she'd melt in their arms.  
  
"Helen, if you want him then he's all yours," Cathy said with a snort as she opened her locker.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
She stopped, staring at the red rose on the little shelf inside. Both Tori and Helen leaned forward.   
  
"That's so romantic!" Helen gushed, pausing to look in the mirror and fluff her golden blonde hair.   
  
"It's *creepy!*" Cathy said, looking at the rose in distaste. The blood red colour of it was almost...disturbing. To her it was more like a sinister *warning*.  
  
"Whop put it there?" Tori said, her expression blank.  
  
Cathy frowned, taking the rose out and throwing it in a near by trash can.  
  
"You really *are* nuts!" Helen walked away, shaking her head in disgust.  
  
"Sometimes I wonder how we ever became friends with her in the first place," Tori snorted.  
  
Cathy sometimes wondered the same thing. She shook own head as she and Tori walked away. Cathy told herself to just forget about the rose. Unfortunately for Cathy, the rose was only the beginning.  
  
* * * 


	2. Part 2

Part 2  
  
She just tossed it! I can't believe it! Girls are supposed to like roses, or that's what I've learned from other girls. Of course I couldn't show any sort of emotion. I had to just stand back and pretend everything was normal.  
  
Maybe I should talk to someone about this. It's not much fun having to deal with this all by myself. But who would understand? It's absurd enough as it is. I guess I'm still stunned with how she just tossed the rose like that.  
  
What did it take to get her to notice me? Her little blonde friend did. I should have someone interested in one of her friends, then they could find out what it took to get her attention. Even just saying her name is almost painful.  
  
I didn't actually have to say it was *her* I was in love with. I could say it was the girl who was our kind, and as for her other friends...  
  
Or maybe I could just...  
  
Just take her and change her so we could be together forever. But what if I did that and she hated me forever? I don't know. But I need to do something...  
  
* * *  
  
Tyche Drache didn't understand what was wrong with Cassanova Redfern. These past few weeks he'd been acting like this head was in the clouds. Nobody could make any sense out of it.  
  
Then again, it wasn't like it was the first time something like this had happened. It was hard keeping your claws in a boyfriend whose name was Cassanova.  
  
Claws, quite literally. Her snobby brother Galen was already famous, involved in all that stupid business with the Witch Child. Everyone seemed to have forgotten he had a sister. Their family's alliance with Circle Daybreak disgusted her. They didn't seem to care about what *she* did. They all seemed to have forgotten she existed.  
  
"There was a *rose* in some human bimbo's locker, can you believe it?" her friend Nemesis Weald snorted in disgust. "Who would do something so corny?"  
  
Tyche ran her fingers through her glossy dark hair. "I happen to like roses." She couldn't remember the last time anyone had ever given her flowers of any kind.  
  
"You wouldn't object if it was *you* getting the roses," Ceres Blackthorn sneered.  
  
Nemesis inspected talon-like black nails. "I wouldn't mind if they were black."  
  
Tyche snorted. "Aren't black roses a made vampire thing?"  
  
"What are you so gloomy about?" Ceres asked, head tilted.  
  
Tyche shrugged. "Anyone noticed Cassanova's weird behaviour lately?" She had tried to talk to him, and of course, he claimed there was nothing wrong. Too bad the boy, no matter how sexy he was, was a lousy liar. His eyes gave him away.  
  
"Cassanova is just *weird*, period," Ceres snorted. "No one notices because he's so sexy."  
  
"Maybe he put the rose in the girl's locker," Nemesis said casually.  
  
Tyche scowled. "You're a lot of help."  
  
"It's the type of thing he'd do," Nemesis pointed out.  
  
As much as Tyche hated to admit it, she had a horrible feeling that she might be right. How humiliating. "Who's the human?" she demanded.  
  
"Don't know her name," Nemesis said. "She hangs with Helen Mandrill."  
  
Mandrill were a vampire clan. Was the girl Daybreak? Whatever. She wasn't the issue. The issue was this bitch who thought she could take Cassanova. She needed to be dealt with. Fast.  
  
* * * 


	3. Part 3

Part 3  
  
"What the hell is your problem?"  
  
Cassanova Redfern blinked, extremely embarrassed to find his head in the clouds.   
  
"You've got more air in that head of yours than brains!" his best friend Vulcan Stillman was eyeing him as if he were nuts. "So who is she? You're dating a Drache Princess, for Christ's sake, what more could you want?" Vulcan glanced over to the group of girls that Cassanova had been staring at in the cafeteria that lunch period.  
  
Of which *she* was part of. The blond in the group turned, flashing him a dazzling smile.   
  
"That's Helen Mandrill. She's not bad, I guess. If you're through with Tyche..."  
  
"I'm *not* through with Tyche," he snapped. "And who are you to talk? You're dating Jacina Harman."  
  
Female Harmans were supposed to be rare. Yet more and more seemed to be popping up all over the place in the last few months. It wasn't the vampire girl had Cassanova's attention. It wasn't even her shapeshifter friend. It was the human.  
  
But how could he say that to Vulcan? Just loving the girl was enough to earn them both a death sentence.  
  
He blinked when a slender hand waved in front of his eyes. "Anyone home?" Tyche sounded just as irritated as Vulcan. Tyche glared at him, her emerald eyes flashing with annoyance. "What's *wrong* with you?"  
  
"Excuse me," he muttered, picking up his lunch tray and depositing it in the trash. He wandered out of the cafeteria, feeling utterly ridiculous. Glancing at his friends talking intensely, no doubt about what a loony he was being.  
  
And they were probably right. Maybe he should approach her, and...  
  
No. No. It couldn't be. He focused on a geeky looking boy who had just entered from a side door.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?"  
  
"Gee, big brother, I missed you too," Dallas Redfern sneered pleasantly. "I just transferred here. Thought I'd check out life beyond an enclave."  
  
If Dallas were here, then it was normally not good. He was a known trouble maker. And if he Learned Cassanova was in love with a *human*...  
  
"What's the big deal, anyway?" Dallas asked. "The Great Lover's afraid I'm gonna put the moves on his girl?"  
  
"Drop dead," Cassanova snapped, glaring furiously and uselessly before stalking off down the hall. How come nothing seemed to be going right for him lately?  
  
* * * 


	4. Part 4

Part 4  
  
He didn't see what the big deal was. Dallas Redfern had been dying to know what life on the outside would be like for some time. His brother Cassanova was only a year older, so how come he got to go first?  
  
Maybe they weren't the best of friends, but he didn't have to bite his head off. He needed a mark to cheer himself up. Some human girl he could play with, sleep with and dump. Most girls in the enclave were no fun. They just did what they were told. That could only be fun for so long. After a while it lost its thrill. Hunting in the vermin world was so much more exciting.  
  
Now he could understand why so many Night People chose to attend human high school. Rumour had it that a Drache Princess was here somewhere, as well.  
  
Dallas headed down the halls, pretending to ignore the looks of distaste he passed by. Some girls did double takes as if not sure what was different. He found his first class and took a seat at the back, surveying the students in front of him. Nobody looked particularly interesting.  
  
"Oh."  
  
He turned at the sound of the girl's voice. A small girl, reasonably pretty with blue eyes and shoulder length brown hair was looking at him slightly disappointed. "Can I help you?"  
  
"I - um - you're in my seat."  
  
Dallas eyed her, his brow furrowing slightly. Did everyone have specific seats or something?   
  
The girl opened her mouth, then flushed, obviously realising how stupid she was being. "Are you new?"  
  
"Yes, I'm Dallas Redfern. And you are?"  
  
The girl smiled shyly, taking the seat next to him. "Cathy Hamilton." This girl showed absolutely no sign of being a Night Person. Something about her innocence was almost...sweet.  
  
Frown her nervous mannerisms he could tell she didn't talk to boys very much.  
  
Perfect.  
  
* * * 


	5. Part 5

Part 5  
  
Cathy found herself relieved the new guy hadn't laughed at her or anything. She couldn't believe she'd been so...stupid.  
  
But then again, maybe it was just because she'd gotten into a routine of sitting in the same place in most of her classes...everyone *else* did it. Woe betide those who sat in the seats of the popular girls...  
  
He was looking at her again. Cathy tried to smile back without blushing a million shades of red. This boy seemed more like her type than some snobby jock. Just because he was looking at her didn't mean he was interested in her. He was new here and probably didn't know anyone...  
  
Still, it would be nice if he *did* like her. She wouldn't have to be so jealous because Helen was usually the one who got all the dates....  
  
"Where are the science labs?" Dallas asked when class had finished.  
  
"They're this way," Cathy said, deciding to be as nice as she could without being too obvious about it. She wished she could think of decent conversation. She'd never really had much practice.  
  
"So...um...what's it like here?" Dallas said, providing her with an opening.  
  
"Small town USA," she said with a shrug. She'd lived in the small town of Blackbrook all her life, it was just like you're average seen-on-TV California town. Nice climate, a large shopping mall, a district of fancy boutiques and upscale shops for the rich people, a handful of mansions on the hill over looking the town, suburban housing, a few apartment buildings, some more shops here and there...  
  
Nothing particularly out of the ordinary. She turned around a corner. "Science labs are just down here," she pointed.  
  
Dallas have her a smile. He wasn't drop-dead gorgeous, but there was something about him that was incredibly appealing to her. She found herself smiling dreamily as she went off to her own class.  
  
"Who's that?" Tori asked, falling into step with her.  
  
"New guy, Dallas Redfern, started today." She sighed. "He's nice."  
  
"Uh-huh," Tori said, eyeing her sideways.  
  
Cathy flushed. "So I have a crush on a guy, sue me!"  
  
Tori smiled. "I didn't say anything."  
  
Cathy rolled her eyes. Maybe she should ask Helen for advice. Dallas didn't seem like her type. She preferred the sports players or the rich boys, And speaking of rich boys...the feeling of being watched slipped over Cathy, once again making her skin crawl.  
  
She glanced over her shoulder, and quickly looked away again. Cassanova Redfern was staring at her as if she'd just ripped his still beating heart out his chest.  
  
* * * 


	6. Part 6

Part 6  
  
It was just...how could he...what the hell was the matter with him? Tyche stared after Cassanova in disbelief as he pushed past her. Her gaze moved to the human he'd been eyeing. Typical girl next door. Who the hell would rather have a doormat, a *vermin* doormat for that matter, than a Drache Princess such as herself.  
  
She stomped moodily to her next class. She didn't hear a word the human teachers said all afternoon. She was too angry.  
  
Cassanova was in love with a *vermin* girl. At least on the bright site, the vermin girl didn't seem very interested in him.   
  
"What's up with you? Is Cassanova's madness catching?" Ceres asked, catching up with Tyche as she left the school building.   
  
"Hardly," Tyche snapped. "He's in love with a *vermin* bitch."  
  
"Didn't we already establish that this morning?" Ceres pointed out, talking out a pair of sunglasses and slipping them on.  
  
Tyche didn't say anything. They had mentioned it, after Nemesis had told them about the rose in the locker. She just hadn't wanted to believe it.   
  
"And after the way he acted at lunch?" Ceres said. "You're believing it now?"  
  
Tyche nodded. "That doesn't mean I'm going to accept it." She scowled. No vermin was going to take her boyfriend and get away with it. Whether she showed interest in him or not.   
  
"Why don't you just hook the vermin girl up with someone else, then Cassanova can't obsess about her?" Ceres suggested as they headed to Tyche's car.  
  
That would just make him even more likely to obsess. He would just kill the guy she hooked the vermin bitch up with.   
  
"What are we talking about?" Nemesis said as she joined them, getting into the passenger seat of Tyche's car without being asked.  
  
"Tyche's upset because Cassanova's fallen for vermin," Ceres said, getting in the back with a roll of her emerald eyes.  
  
"Easy solution there," Nemesis said as Tyche got in and started the engine. "Kill the vermin, and him while you're at it."  
  
Tyche didn't say anything. Kill the vermin girl...if Cassanova figured out she knew, then he was smart enough to guess that was the first thing she would do. As for killing *him*...he'd broken Night World law, was in love with a human...  
  
"Does the girl even know?" Ceres asked.  
  
"I don't think so," Tyche said, turning out of the school parking lot.  
  
"So what's the big deal?" Nemesis pointed out, inspecting her reflection in the mirror in her sun visor. She fluffed her raven her.   
  
  
  
"If this was your boyfriend, how would *you* react?" Tyche snapped.  
  
Nemesis pushed up the sun-visor. "Get a new boyfriend."  
  
Tyche's eyes rolled. It wasn't like she could talk to Cassanova about th9is. She didn't know if she wanted to give him up or not. Making him jealous was a possibility that didn't sound *too* bad to her? What could it hurt?  
  
* * * 


	7. Part 7

Part 7  
  
Things seem to be going from bad to worse for me. I can't get the girl I want, my friends all think I'm insane, and to make matters worse my pain in the ass brother has decided to come to town.  
  
And he's hitting on her. *Her*! How can I convince her he's no good for her? Tyche's probably going to kill me sometime soon. Maybe I should just let Vulcan have her. Maybe I should just kill *myself*. Then there'd be no more worries. How many times must I think I can't believe this is happening to me? I've got to stop being such an idiot about this, get off my ass and do something.  
  
As foolish as it probably is, I can't think of anything else to do. I have to save her before Dallas kills her. That's all he wants when it comes to girls. He doesn't love her like I do, and never will.  
  
Nobody's going to make me listen to any sort of reason. Hell, I haven't told anyone, so who's around to yell at me. I'm going to do it.  
  
* * *  
  
"What's up with him?" Tori asked, frowning as she watched Cassanova hurry away.   
  
Cathy shrugged, not sure if she was angry or scared. She had never spoken to that boy before, he'd never given any sign that he'd noticed her, not until now.   
  
"I have no idea." She'd also spotted the guy's girlfriend looking daggers at her. How did she say politely she wasn't interested? It seemed kind of weird to her, that why, if Cassanova Redfern seemed so obsessed with her, he wouldn't come to talk to her or ask her out.  
  
She usually kept her distance from his girlfriend Tyche and her crowd. They scared her. She was pretty certain it was something more than their good looks that gave them their popularity.  
  
She knew that Helen was quite friendly with some of the other popular girls, maybe she could ask Helen to ask them what was going on.   
  
She tried to think of other things the rest of the day, normal things, concentrate on her classes...but she couldn't. Her mind kept drifting, flipping from thinking about Dallas to thinking of Cassanova, and how completely *hurt* he had looked.  
  
She shook her head in confusion. It was all too weird for her. And to make things worse, he was standing by her locker when school finished for the day. Cathy sighed. There were things she needed to get. What did she do? Walk up and demand that he stopped *staring* at her like a love sick puppy?  
  
"What do you want?" She didn't care of she sounded rude.  
  
"If you want to stay alive, then stay away from my brother."  
Cathy wasn't sure she was hearing correctly. "Excuse me?"  
  
Cassanova smiled without humour. "I realise how completely crazy that sounds. But I know my brother better than you do. I know what he's - done - to innocent girls like yourself."  
  
Cathy still thought her hearing was going funny. "And you're warning me to stay away from him and protect myself." She felt sure she'd seen this scene before somewhere. She felt completely ridiculous.  
  
"If you want to stay alive, stay away from him." He turned and walked away.  
  
What his brother had done to innocent girls like herself... Brother. Dallas Redfern was his brother? She would never have guessed. He didn't look very dangerous. Maybe Cathy didn't *want* to be an innocent girl. Maybe there was more to her than a doormat. How could she prove that?  
  
* * * 


	8. Part 8

Part 8  
  
Dallas frowned, watching Cassanova talking to the girl he'd chosen as his mark. Now what the hell did he think he was doing? Cassanova sauntered off, a smug expression on his face as he passed Dallas.  
  
The girl...Cathy...was talking to her friend, looking totally bewildered. Now what did that stupid brother of his think he was doing? Trying to protect the innocent vermin girl from him? He headed over to her, refusing to be intimidated. It wouldn't be the first time he and Cassanova had fought over a girl. First time over a *vermin* girl.  
  
Why the hell would he care about protecting some human? Unless he'd turned into one of those stupid Damned Daybreakers tainting the good Redfern name. Dallas shook his head in disgust, smoothing out his expression into a smile as he approached the girl. "Hey Cathy."  
  
Cathy turned, smiling shyly. "Hi. Um...this is my friend, Tori." She nodded at the tall, dark haired girl beside her.  
  
The girl smiled politely. "Hi."  
  
"You know my brother?" Dallas asked, wondered if they'd tell him what was going on.  
  
Cathy frowned uncomfortably. "No. I have no idea what the hell he was talking about."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
Cathy shrugged, again extremely uncomfortable. "It was nothing."  
  
It clearly wasn't nothing. It didn't seem like Cathy would listen to whatever Cassanova said. Which was good for him. "Want a ride home?" he offered.  
  
"I have some work to do in the library, I'll see you guys later," Tori said with a smile, conveniently disappearing.  
  
"Sure," Cathy said with a shy smile. She was quiet as they walked out the front entrance of the school parking lot. He waited for her to make some attempt at conversation, but she remained silent, glancing at him every now and then.  
  
"So where abouts do you live?" he asked as the car left the parking lot.  
  
"Radeclyffe Road. It's the other side of the park?"  
  
"I know what that is."  
  
Once arriving in town he'd decided to know the area, so he'd spent about two days cruising round getting to know the place, back streets, alternate routs, where the Night World clubs/cafes were. He'd found three witch shops, and one that sold supplies for forbidden spells.  
  
It took about 15 minutes to get to Cathy's house. No wonder this girl wasn't very popular, she couldn't seem to be able to string three words together. "Thanks for the ride."  
  
He could kill her right now. Dig his teeth in her neck. There was no one about on the street. But she was already getting at the car. He'd missed his chance. Shit. "Hey - wanna to go to a movie later?"  
  
Cathy turned, surprised. She clearly hadn't expected him to ask her out again. Whatever Cassanova had said was affecting her more than she'd thought. "Um...yeah. I guess. What's on."  
  
He shrugged. "I'll pick you up at 7:30 and we'll just go see what's on."  
  
"Okay." She gave him a shy smile before disappearing into the house. The girl would probably make nothing more than an easy meal, he thought as he drove away. If he was planning on staying a while, he needed to find himself a Night World girl. This human was about as interesting as a block of wood.   
  
Still...an easy kill. He wasn't going to complain.  
  
* * * 


	9. Part 9

Part 9  
  
When the call from Vulcan Stillman came Helen was more than a little surprised. She thought his crowd knew she was a semi-Daybreaker. Most of the time she found them a little *too* idealistic for her liking. Stopping the violence between the humans and Night People was going to be damn close to impossible.  
  
The idea of Night World dominance wasn't all that appealing to her either. If they ended the world and enslaved all the humans, what would there be to do? The novelty of being the superior race would ware off after a while.  
  
She was more inclined to follow her instincts for choice of sides.  
  
"Huh?" She wasn't exactly sure what he wanted her to do.  
  
Vulcan sighed with impatience. "It's weird, I know. All right. Basically Cassanova has a crush on your friend Cathy. Tyche's pissed. It's either kill her or kill him."  
  
Helen frowned into the phone. "Why can't one of her friends do it?"  
  
"Because he'll figure that out. Tyche seems to be thinking along the lines if there's no Cathy, then there's no obsession."  
  
Helen's eyes rolled. In some sort of crazy way, it actually seemed to make sense. But what would someone like Cassanova Redfern see in an ordinary girl-next-door type like Cathy. He was dating *Tyche* *Drache*. She'd kill to have a royal title, or know someone in royalty. Shame Tyche was such a bitch,  
  
Cathy was her friend. Tori was likely to notice if she turned up dead. But how would Helen even manage to...? "Is there not another plan?" she asked tiredly.  
  
"Jacina seems to think that Cassanova's up to something probably no good," Vulcan said.  
  
Helen frowned. What could he be thinking? It was against Night World law to tell humans they existed. "He's going to confess his undying love?"  
  
Vulcan snorted. "If he does, he'll earn them both a death sentence, and then any Night Person would be *happy* to carry out their duty?"  
  
Helen sighed. Again, it made an uncomfortable sense. Cathy was doomed anyway, simply because Cassanova loved her. And whatever he was planning, it was no doubt going to be illegal.  
  
At least if she dealt with Cathy, it would be easier for her to die in a nice way rather than have Nemesis or Cerise do it. "All right, all right," she said, sighing again. "I'll do it."  
  
"Good. Just don't make it obvious it's a vampire killing," Vulcan said, and hung up.  
  
"Duh," Helen muttered, putting the phone back in the cradle. She drummed her nails on the desk top, wondering what to do now.  
  
* * * 


	10. Part 10

Part 10  
  
Cassanova had decided what he was going to do. He had been pretty certain for some time now. He had been sure all along really. He had known as surely as he had known their love was forbidden. Only his inner voice and common sense had been getting in the way, telling him what a totally insane idea it was.  
  
The inner voice and all his friends thought he was being a complete nut case at the moment, and they were probably right. It was completely insane. He had known from the start his attraction to Cathy was dangerous. But he couldn't bear to see her seduced and killed by Dallas.  
  
He'd tried warning her to stay away, but he'd known it wouldn't work. He had to try, at least. So all that was left was his original idea. The problem - apart from it being totally illegal - was how the hell he was going to pull it off.  
  
He now realised how utterly ridiculous he'd been, thinking he could warn her to stay away from Dallas. Telling her that Dallas was bad was only going to make her more interested in him. If Cassanova went head wit his plan, there was the constant worry that Cathy would hate him for what he'd done.  
  
No. He had to think positive. She might be fascinated. He could make her see there was more to him than just a handsome face. He knew Tyche had some sort of jealous revenge plan in mind, but e didn't know what.  
  
He'd seen her talking to Vulcan and Jacina earlier. He doubted Vulcan would actually tell him what Tyche was planning.  
  
"Cassanova?"  
  
He turned to see Jacina, standing before the table he was sitting at in his local Black Iris. He frowned as she sat down, not waiting to be asked. "What?"  
  
Jacina looked at him, her face calm and serene as always. "There's something going on with you."  
  
Cassanova eyed her suspiciously. "You think I'm nuts like everyone else?"  
  
Jacina smiled. "No. I know you're in love with that human Cathy." Her voice was soft to avoid being overheard. "I had a similar problem and I found a solution that might help you."  
  
Cassanova stared at her. "I thought you were with Vulcan."  
  
Jacina snorted. "That's only for show. I found my real soulmate."  
  
Soulmate...the idea had never really registered in his mind until Cathy. He knew most likely that it wouldn't actually turn out to be her, but he could dream, couldn't he? "Huh?"  
  
"In Circle Daybreak. He's a fellow witch." She smiled a little sheepishly. "Vulcan doesn't actually know. At least," she paused, "I don't think he does. I don't want to make things difficult."  
  
Cassanova didn't say anything. She was dating a Night World vampire and a Daybreak witch. It was a recipe for disaster. "And how does this help me with Cathy?"  
  
"Circle Daybreak, you idiot. Humans and Night People can be together there."  
  
Cassanova mulled over the idea. He loved Cathy, he was pretty sure she didn't love him as much, but she could, if he talked to her, told her how he felt...No. It wasn't what he really wanted. He'd only opt for Circle Daybreak as a last resort.  
  
"Do you know what Tyche's up to?"  
  
Jacina shrugged. "She's jealous. She wants Vulcan to kill the human. He thinks it'll be too suspicious if he did it, so he's asked Helen Mandrill to do it."  
  
Helen was supposed to be Cathy's friend. Dallas was trying to kill her, Vulcan and Tyche were trying to kill her...he had no choice. "Thanks for the suggestion, I'll think about it." He stood up and left the café.  
  
He had to do it tonight. It was now over never, and he was going for now.  
  
* * * 


	11. Part 11

Part 11  
  
"They're going to *what*?" Tori stared in shock at Jacina. So far she had been able to keep the secret of Night World and Circle Daybreak from Cathy. She herself was a Daybreaker.  
  
It had come as a surprise that Jacina Harman was one as well. Considering the crowd she hung around with and who she dated - Tori had just assumed she was a spoiled Night World brat like they were.  
  
She'd been surprised to find out she was wrong, and was ashamed for thinking that. Jacina apparently had a secret Circle Daybreak soulmate. The whole thing with Vulcan was only for show so she could get some sort of inheritance. (What that was all about Tori wasn't really sure, but it wasn't really relevant right now.)  
  
What was relevant now was what Tyche was going to have done to Cathy.   
  
"How could Vulcan even *think* of asking Helen to kill Cathy?" Tori was outraged.  
  
Cassanova was in love with Cathy. It was no secret anymore. Everyone knew, of course, Tyche was fuming with jealousy. She wanted Cathy out the way - no Cathy, no obsession.   
  
Jacina shrugged uncomfortably. "He's a vampire, isn't he? They do what they think is right for the honour of their most powerful and prestigious clan. And Cassanova has unfortunate attachment to earn him the surname of Redfern. As far as Vulcan is concerned, he's just looking out for his buddy."  
  
Tori shook her head. Night People's ideas of honour and duty absolutely astounded her. She hoped she never had to understand it. "Who's this Dallas Redfern?" she asked. She'd seen the guy with Cathy earlier in the day. He'd send chills running down her spine. There was more to him than the geek-boy appearance he put on.  
  
"He's Cassanova's brother. He looked familiar, so I did a little background check on him."  
  
Tori's eyes scanned the crowd of the café she and Jacina sat in. So far she hadn't seen anyone she knew, and no one Jacina could identify as a Night Person. So far. "And?"  
  
"He lived in the enclave Hunter first founded until recently and he decided he wanted to try the world Outside. All he does with girls is use them - and kill them."  
  
Tori sighed. Cathy had never been very lucky with guys, most that looked towards them were blown away by Helen's vampire beauty. Now Cathy had two psychotic vampires after her. "Have you talked to Cassanova?"  
  
Jacina nodded. "I tried to talk to him about Circle Daybreak. I doubt it'll work. That's why I called. He's going to do something. We have to stop it, or stop Helen from killing Cathy."  
  
Surely Helen couldn't...Helen was Cathy's *friend*. Tori wasn't too sure on Helen's ideas of Night World duty. If she was friends with a human, why would she want to kill them?  
  
"What's Cassanova going to do?"  
  
Jacina smiled wryly. "I don't know. But I know it'll be soon."  
  
Tori stood up, dread starting to grow inside her. "I think we have to go find Cathy. Now."  
  
* * * 


	12. Part 12

Part 11  
  
"I always knew she was a bitch," Tyche muttered as she and Nemesis watched Tori and Jacina come out of the café. That bitch was going to spoil everything.  
  
"Poor Vulcan," Nemesis sympathetically.  
  
Ceres was inside, spying on them, they hadn't recognised her yet, or at least not from the look of it. Cassanova was going to do something, Dallas was going to do something, Jacina was a secret Daybreaker, and going to pull the plug on their own plan. It was starting to sound more and more pathetic than when the whole thing started.  
  
"So what do we do now?" Nemesis asked.  
  
"I would have thought the answer's clear enough," Tyche said, taking out her cell-phone. She punched in Jacina's number. "We need to talk. Now. It's kind of an emergency. Meet me at my place. Just come. I'll explain them." She hung up and put the car in gear, driving home.  
  
"What about Ceres?"  
  
"Ceres is following."  
  
"I didn't think shifters could use telepathy to vampire minds."  
  
"I'm more than just your average shifter." Though sometimes she thought it would be nice if someone other than her could recognise that. Ten minutes later she pulled up in her driveway. Jacina was already there.  
  
"What's going on?" Jacina asked following Tyche and her friends into the house with her Aunt and Uncle. Her parents were too busty with the whole millennium crap and since she didn't have a part they wanted her out the way and 'safe'.  
  
Luckily for Tyche, no one was home. She led the group into the kitchen. Jacina walked silently beside her, glancing at her every so often.   
  
"What's going on?" Ceres asked, repeating Jacina's earlier question.  
  
Tyche smiled at the collection of knives in a wooden holder, silver ones and iron ones, large and small, all sharp and deadly. She reached for the sharpest iron one. She turned around and with a quick motion slashed Jacina's throat and slammed the knife into her heart. Jacina cried out in shock and pain before collapsing and drowning in her own blood.  
  
"Well that was so *not* smart!" Ceres said, staring at the body in utter disbelief.  
  
"She annoyed me. She spoiled everything," Tyche said reasonably.  
  
"What the hell are we going to do with *that*?" Nemesis snapped, kicking at the body. "She's a fucking *Harman*! People will kind of notice when she's not there!"  
  
"We'll worry about that later." Tyche wasn't concerned about the murder \t the moment. Right now they had to get to Tori and kill her before she got to Cathy. Maybe Helen had already done her part of the plan. If Cathy was dead already there would be no need for anyone else to die.  
  
"So that's the new plan?" Ceres snorted with disgust. "Kill everyone who gets in the way?"  
  
Tyche shrugged. "Pretty much."  
"You've lost it," Nemesis said harshly, glaring helplessly. "You're insane."  
  
Tyche frowned a little, glancing at her friends. They clearly weren't going to help her with the rest of this. They didn't understand. "Fine," she snapped. "I'll do it on my own." She stalked out the room. She found the nearest phone and called Helen. "Is she dead yet?"  
  
"No. I've just arrived. But two someone elses have as well. I recognise Cassanova's car - which is speeding away now, but not the other one."  
  
Tyche felt like screaming. So just wanted her boyfriend to love her. What was wrong with that? He'd be hers again, even if she had to kill everyone in her path to get him. "See what's going on, stay until I get there. I'm on my way."   
  
Tyche ran for her car. Maybe she was being inside about the whole thing. But that was what being in love did to you.  
  
* * * 


	13. Part 13

Author's note: Part length is something I'm trying to work on. Most of this fic has been written in a notebook, and what seems like a decent length chapter written there, tends to be different when it gets typed up. I'm trying to make the coming parts longer.   
  
  
Part 13  
  
Helen had spent the last hour debating that to do. She already knew what any good Night Person would tell her to do. Duty came first. Tyche was a Drache Princess, she must be obeyed. Humans were vermin to real Night People.  
  
She wasn't a stupid Daybreaker, she'd killed people before, fed on their blood and enjoyed it. Why was this vermin different t the others? She sighed. She'd made the mistake of letting Cathy be her friend, and liking the vermin. Now when told to kill her, she couldn't do it.  
  
The results of the mistake. She *could* help Cathy fake her death. Granted, not a highly original escape plan, but she was out of original ideas right now. She tried to ignore the ringing phone, which stopped eventually, only to have someone downstairs shouting, "Helen! Phone! It's Cathy."  
  
Helen groaned. Cathy was the last person she wanted to speak to right now. She sighed as she picked up her receiver. "Hi Cathy."  
  
"Help!" Cathy whined. "I have a date in less than twenty minutes. Help!"  
  
Helen frowned. Cathy and date didn't usually go in the same sentence together. If she had a date, maybe it could lead to a full time relationship and Cassanova would loose his interest, then she wouldn't have to kill Cathy. "Oh, who with?"  
  
"New guy, Dallas Redfern. I'm at a total loss for conversation. What do I *talk* about?" She was clearly desperate.  
  
Dallas Redfern? The name sent a shiver down Helen's spine. "Anything. Latest hot TV, movies, school music, you know," Helen answered, trying to keep her voice casual. Then she sighed again. She couldn't do this...it was too much. "Look," she said, changing the subject. "Something really important has come up and we need to talk. Now."   
  
"But Dallas will be here in about fifteen minutes."  
  
"He'll just have to wait. I'm coming over now." She hung up and hurried out the house, hoping she could get to Cathy before she left for her date. No sooner than she'd set off Tyche called. Tyche sounded weird, like she might be high. Something was definitely up.  
  
And...crap. There were two cars parked outside Cathy's house. One she knew as Cassanova's, the other's must belong to Dallas. Great. And now Tyche was coming. She parked ad headed up Cathy's front driveway. The front door was open. That was weird.  
  
"Cathy?"  
  
No answer. Helen frowned walking silently up the stairs. The hairs on her arms were standing on end. There was a prickling at the back of her neck. She felt kind of stupid. She pushed open the door to Cathy's bedroom.   
  
A weird looking boy she'd never met was standing there, a rather pissed off expression on his handsome face. "Where the hell is Cathy? And what's Cassanova's car doing outside?" he demanded.  
  
"You're Dallas Redfern?"   
  
He nodded. "Yeah. Who're you?"  
  
"Helen Mandrill." She remained where she was, eyeing him curiously, keeping a safe distance between herself and Dallas.  
  
"Now what?" Tyche appeared in the doorway and stood next to Helen, looking as confused as everyone else. There was blood splattered on Tyche's white top. Helen's eyebrow raised.  
  
"Jacina's a traitor, she's dead now," Tyche said dismissively. "Why isn't Cathy dead?"  
  
"Cathy and Cassanova appear to be missing," Helen answered.  
  
"*What*?" Tyche stared from Helen to Dallas.  
  
Helen shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. There was a hiatus.  
  
* * * 


	14. Part 14

Part 14  
  
I'm so fucking stupid! What am I going to do? I thought I could handle this, I was on top of everything, and I knew what I was doing.  
  
Now I have her, I don't know if I want to actually do it or not. I didn't expect Dallas to show up, nor Helen to be on her way to kill Cathy. (Who's absurd plan was that, anyway?)  
  
I just knocked her put, grabbed her and took off. I stole a car and she's in the trunk. I don't know if she's conscious or not yet. Maybe I should have taken Jacina's Circle Daybreak suggestion. Typical Redfern pride getting in the way.   
  
I can't kill her. I just can't do that. I just have to get her as far away from home as possible. I wonder if I can convince her to leave the country with me?  
  
Night World rules might be different in other parts of the world...  
  
God, I'm delusional. Hell, I have been all along. I've really fucked up now.  
  
* * *  
  
Cassanova pulled the stolen car to a stop on the hard shoulder of the deserted highway. He switched off the engine and took Cathy out the trunk, placing her gently on the backseat. She was, thankfully, still unconscious. He looked around, trying to get his bearings.  
  
He'd been lost in his own mind, he hadn't known where he was going, just knowing he had to get away before he got caught. He sighed, and worse, he was getting hungry. He continued to drive until he saw a cheap motel sign. The bored clerk gave him a room, without even questioning Cathy.  
  
Casanova closed the blinds and locked the door. He could start the change now. She didn't *have* to be awake. He didn't know how she would handle waking up dead and a vampire.  
  
He knew of people who had tried that. The human either wound up dead, the human once turned hated the maker and ran away from them, or they usually both ended up as Daybreakers.  
  
Cathy sat up with a start, "What's going on? Where are we?"  
  
Cassanova smiled sourly. "This is going to sound ridiculous, but I have no idea."  
  
Cathy looked at him as if he had two heads. "Oh, Christ, I can't *believe* this. You've *kidnapped* me!" She buried her face in her hands. "Why? I'm no one special."  
  
"You are to me," he said before he could stop himself.  
  
She looked up, eyeing him. "Why? I've lived in the same town as you since the start of high school and you've never so much as glanced at me."  
  
"I did, all the time," he confessed. He was going to tell her, against everything he'd ever been taught, and break Night World law. ~For the second time,~ his mental voice sneered at him. ~Boy, you're gonna get your ass kicked.~  
  
Cathy folded her arms. "So how come you never talked to me?" She was taking this better than he had expected. She wasn't screaming or begging him to take her home. He guessed if he'd been interested in a more popular girl she might have been more hysterical. Well, he hadn't mentioned the vampire thing, yet.  
  
"Well, um, because Night World law says I can't. It would mean a death sentence for both of us."  
  
Cathy's eyebrow raised. "Huh? What's Night World?" She shook her head, running her hands through her brown hair. "Something supernatural? Let me guess, you're a vampire and vampires aren't supposed to love human girls?"  
  
Cassanova smiled without humour. "Yes, actually."  
  
Cathy snorted. "What'd you do? Bring me out here to change me."  
  
"Again, yes."  
  
She glanced at him. He kept his expression calm and neutral. She thought he was kidding. She stared at him for several minutes, her amused sarcasm starting to fade.  
  
"Your...dear *Lord* you're really *serious*?" she whispered.  
  
He nodded, and without thinking of any other way to prove it, he showed her his fangs, canine teeth sharpening to deadly points. Now he expected her to start screaming.  
  
But she didn't. She stared at him in awe. "You're...real," she breathed. She shook her head in fascination. "Don't tell me, Tyche's your sire and can't go?"  
  
He chuckled, but didn't retract his fangs. "Actually, no Tyche's a shapeshifter. Your friend Helen is a vampire."  
  
Cathy's eyebrow raised. "Helen? No wonder she goes through so many guys." She folded her arms and crossed her legs. "So tell me about Night World, then."  
  
Cassanova had to stop himself from melting. All his worries that she wouldn't be able to accept him for what he really was had been totally in vain. She was utterly fascinated. He supposed a human society that had grown up with Buffy, X-Files and Anne Rice, all about supernatural this that and the other, maybe they wouldn't be all that surprised to discover a secret hidden society of vampires, witches and shapeshifters.  
  
"Unfortunately, some of the officials and heads of the Night World still live in the 1500s and earlier. The laws are as strict today as they were back then. Don't tell humans, and don't fall in love with them." He sighed. "I've broken both. I guess I never told you because I never knew how you'd react."  
  
~And what happened the first time you tried this and blew it~ his mind prodded. He didn't want to think about that right now. Mistakes had been made, it was all in the past.  
  
Cathy was silent for a few minutes, seeming lost in thought. The hunger that had been growing inside Cassanova was slowly starting to get worse. He would *have* to feed soon.  
  
"You said you brought me here to change me so why aren't you doing it?"  
  
"What?" He glanced at her.  
  
She walked over to him and tilted her head to one side. "Go on," she told him. "Do it. Make me a vampire."  
  
* * * 


	15. Part 15

Part 15  
  
Ceres and Nemesis still stood in Tyche's house staring at the dead body of Jacina in disbelief. Cerise shook her head, for once at a total loss for words. She had no idea what to do or say.  
  
"We have to do something with that," Nemesis nodded at the body.  
  
"No we don't," Cerise said finally, stepping away from the growing puddle of blood. "We can just leave it the way it was and walk away. We had nothing to do with this."  
  
"We saw Tyche kill her! I doubt that Night People royals can claim diplomatic immunity!" Nemesis snorted in disgusted contempt.  
  
Cerise sighed. Nemesis was probably right. Tyche could say they were assisting her in the murder, neither of them had done anything to stop her. Tyche had run off, and now they were stuck.  
  
"She's lost it," Nemesis said.   
  
"We have to get over there before she does something stupid," Cerise said finally.   
  
Nemesis eyed her. "All this fuss over one little vermin girl. It seems kind of crazy to me."  
  
Cerise had to admit she agreed as she and Nemesis hurried to her car and drove over to Cathy's house. Most likely whatever was going to been done would have already happened. It *was* kind of ridiculous all for one vermin girl. One Night Person had broken the rules and it was destroying everything around him. No wonder they were so fucking strict when it came to the rules. To top it all off, they had one dead Harman, and someone was going to raise hell about that.  
  
What they needed to was kill Tyche and Cassanova. And Cathy. Maybe it was harsh, but that was the way things were. It was all Tyche's fault anyway, she'd admitted her own absurd, insane plan.   
  
When they got to Cathy's house there was one car in the driveway. Cerise frowned and rang the doorbell. A short woman in a white business suit answered. "We're friends of Cathy's, is she home?"  
  
The woman - who must be Cathy's mother - shook her head. "No. She went to stay the night at her friend Helen's. You might be able to get her there. Know where that is?"  
  
Cerise smiled and nodded. "Yeah, thanks." She hurried back down the path to her car.  
  
"Well?" Nemesis asked.  
  
"They've gone to Helen's." Cerise sighed again as they headed over.  
  
There were three cars outside. One Helen's, one Tyche's, one Cerise didn't recognise. Nemesis rang the bell. Helen didn't look all that surprised to see them. Tyche, however, was.  
  
"I thought you guys had all abandoned me," she said harshly.  
  
  
"We nearly did," Nemesis answered. "But then decided we all have the same problem, and we might as well work together."  
  
Cerise turned to the guy she didn't recognise. "Who the hell are you?"  
  
"This is Dallas Redfern," Helen said dismissively. "We have a situation, and we need to figure out what the hell were going to do about it."  
  
* * * 


	16. Part 16

Part 16  
  
Cathy had never been prepared for expecting to be kidnapped. That happened to rich girls, important people, beauty queens...not ordinary people like her.  
  
Then he'd surprised her even more. She'd never expected him to be a vampire either. She should have guessed, of course, she thought dryly. Maybe she should have been a little more flattered that he was completely in love with her.  
  
And his Night World did sound so much more fascinating than her every day one. Thoughts of nervousness about a date with Dallas Redfern flown completely from her mind.   
  
Now she sat on the bed in the dingy motel room, waiting for him to come and change her. Cassanova was just sitting there, looking bewildered. He clearly hadn't expected her to *want* to be part of the Night World.   
  
She was getting annoyed. "I don't see what the big deal is," she said, crossing her arms like an impatient child. "You brought me here for a reason, you told me everything now you're being a dick. Come *on*. Get on with it."  
  
Cassanova blinked. "There's no turning back. Once you're a vampire you can't become human again if you don't like it."  
  
Cathy thought about what she would be giving up. Going to high school. Her family. She kind of got the impression they didn't like her much anyway, her parents were at work all the time and hardly ever spoke to her, so she wasn't too broken up about that. It wasn't like she was wildly popular or anything. "If there's some rule about not loving humans, if there one about changing them?"  
  
Cassanova smiled in that dry, humourless way of his. "Yeah, you need permission from the Council. And they would never accept mine. It's against the law."  
  
"So if you made me, would other Night People know?"  
  
Cassanova nodded. "Everyone at our school would know. Vampires are naturally beautiful so your appearance would change drastically. So yeah, they'd know. But we can hide." His tone changed, becoming calculating as he started to pace around the motel room. "You um, know - "  
  
  
  
"I won't be leaving much," Cathy said with a nod. She'd be giving up Tori and Helen, but as a gorgeous Night Person she could make new friends. The easiest way to cope with this was put the old life behind and think of start9ing fresh with a new one.  
  
"I still want you to do it," she said confidently.  
  
Cassanova nodded and sat on the bed side her, Cathy watched him, telling herself to stay calm as his fangs extended again. She gasped as they sank into the soft flesh of her throat. *Wow,* she thought faintly. The feeling she got as the blood was drawn out was like nothing she'd ever felt before. She could never even begin to describe it if she tried for a million years. The dingy motel room faded away. She was lost in a golden haze where nothing could hurt her ever again.  
  
She sighed, unconsciously reaching for Cassanova, one hand stroking his soft blond hair. She moaned with disappointment when he moved away, all too quickly for her liking. She felt languid, still as if she was on a level above reality. She'd always thought having a vampire feed on you would hurt like hell.   
  
"It only hurts if you resist, if you fight me," Cassanova's voice was soft. "But we're not done yet. We need to do this at least three times. Then you'll sort of - well - die - and some time later, two or three days, I'll call to you and you'll wake up new."  
  
Cathy was feeling too good to even think about the possibility of dying. She would be immortal, and live forever. Dying was absolutely the last thing on her mind. "Okay, do I...um...need something from you?"  
  
Cassanova nodded. With a sharp fingernail he cut along the inside of his wrist. Cathy didn't feel the slightest bit of shock or even wince as she watched the red blood welling up in the cut as he pressed it to her mouth. The warm liquid flowered into her. It was the best thing she'd ever tasted, better than chocolate. She felt better than ever, full of energy and a power older than man. Was this was what it was like when vampires fed from humans?  
  
"How long will this take?" Cathy asked when he'd finished.   
  
"Two days maybe." He had moved away from her and was staring at the dull curtains. Cathy had the feeling that Tyche wouldn't be too pleased about letting him go. She must have some kind of plan in mind.  
  
"You're thinking about Tyche."  
  
"She's not going to take this sitting down. Everyone's already convinced I'm nuts because I've been acting so weird lately. I know they're up to something,  
  
"But you don't know what." Cathy wondered why she wasn't panicking. Her head must still be in the clouds, feeling the effects of the new blood inside her. "Let's worry about it tomorrow." A sly smile crossed her face as an idea sparked. She remembered there was something else she had always wanted to do. Helen talked about it all the time. "Come here."  
  
  
  
Cassanova turned, frowning as he looked at her. But he came anyway, into her open arms, like he was being pulled by a magnet. She unbuttoned his shirt and kissed him deeply. Then he got it. "Oh. Are you sure?"  
  
Cathy nodded. She wasn't going to give up her human life as a virgin. "Yes."  
  
"Okay."  
  
* * * 


	17. Part 17

Part 17  
  
Helen felt like screaming. Because Cathy happened to be her friend most of the obvious questions were directed at her - only she had no answer to give them. "How many fucking times?" she snapped, finally loosing her cool. "I have no *idea* where they went. How *should* I know when you asked me to kill the little bitch?"  
  
"Your friend Tori," Ceres said. "She was talking to Jacina and they were going to try and stop Cassanova from doing whatever he's done."  
  
"That's not going to be an option now," Tyche said dismissively. There was an odd, disturbing smile on her pretty face that made Helen shiver.  
  
"Why not?" Dallas asked.   
  
Tyche smiled her cold smile again. "Bitch is dead. I took care of *her*."  
  
Helen was almost too shocked to be angry. Killing everyone who got in the way of the boy you happened to like was just insane. She could tell by the looks on Ceres and Nemesis's faces they agreed Tyche had completely lost it.  
  
"You killed Tori?" she got out past the lump in her throat.   
  
"Not yet," Tyche answered calmly. "But if she gets in my way I will. I killed Jacina."  
  
~Vulcan's going to have a fit~ Helen thought, but couldn't deny the relief she felt. She'd have to warn Tori and maybe they could figure something out before Tyche got to Cassanova and Cathy.  
  
"Where do *you* think they've gone?" Tyche asked Dallas.  
  
Dallas shrugged. "The last time Cassanova did something like this he got his ass kicked. - and sent away from the enclave."  
  
Helen frowned. "Last time?"  
  
Dallas sneered. "Idiot fell in love with his human slave, decided if he made her a Night Person they could run away together and everything would be all right." He shook his head.  
  
Tyche's eyes had darkened and her expression had changed marginally. Jealousy mixed with hatred and heated obsession. An ugly combination. "Who?"  
  
  
"Her name was Maria Pullman," Dallas said. "They never caught her. They got Cassanova. He got tortured." He smirked nastily.   
  
Helen couldn't help thinking Cassanova deserved it for being such an ass. What did he *think* was going to happen to him? He'd tried to get away with doing it once - and hadn't. Night World law outside the enclaves was no less strict - if anything, *worse*.  
  
"So we all think he's taken Cathy to change her. There were mutterings and nods. *Finding* where they'd gone was going to be the hard part. But she did have an idea where they could start.  
  
* * * 


	18. Part 18

Part 18  
  
Cassanova woke, his heart pounding, sweat pouring down his forehead. The screams of pain were still echoing in his ear. *His* screams. He could still, almost feel the pain.  
  
A part of mind must have managed to hide what had happened to him from his conscious thoughts. Now he was doing the same thing again, maybe his mind was trying to remind him.  
  
He hadn't thought of Maria in so long. He didn't even know if she was still alive. His only thought had been getting her away from the enclave and safe. He had done that - saved her, but only to be caught himself.   
  
He got out of the bed. Cathy was still asleep. There was no way he could take her home again, they were already into the change. If he gave her one more exchange this morning and the final late that night, by the weekend, three days away, she would be a vampire.  
  
If, in the mean time, nothing else went wrong. How *could* anything else go wrong? He didn't even know where they were. He'd just driven blindly until he'd found a motel.   
  
He pulled on the same clothes he had worn the other day as he hadn't thought before he'd acted. Something in his pocket was vibrating, giving his left leg a pleasant feeling. Then he kicked himself mentally, realising it was his cell phone.   
  
How could he have been so stupid? Could they trace his whereabouts from the cell phone? He left the room and answered. "What?"  
  
"Cassanova? This is Tori, Cathy's friend. Don't worry, I'm one of the good guys. Where are you?"  
  
"I'm not sure. Somewhere not near tone." He was as vague as he could be without giving too much away.  
  
All he could see around him were endless fields and road, milky blue sky overhead.   
  
"What are you - shit, I already *know* what you're planning. Have you started?"  
  
"Yes." Once they change had been started, you had to see it through. Rather that than becoming a ghoul.   
  
"Damn," Tori muttered. "I was afraid of that. What are you planning on doing *after* the change?"  
  
"I haven't really thought about that yet."  
  
"Jacina mentioned she told you about Circle Daybreak."  
  
Cassanova made a face. It looked like he didn't have any other choice. "Yeah. Why are you so concerned, anyway?"  
  
"Because Cathy is my *friend* and I don't want her dead. Tyche's already killed Jacina because she was *in* *the* *way*. Can you imagine what she'll do to *you* when she catches you?"  
  
Cassanova was trying not to think about the downside of plan. He had been cheering himself up with the fact that Cathy hadn't been repulsed and she *wanted* to be a vampire.  
  
"I need to know where you are so we can find you a Daybreak safe house near by."  
  
Again he noted a sense of urgency in Tori's voice.  
  
"Why the rush? I don't even know there the hell we are. I just drove till I found a hotel."  
  
"Well obviously *someone* knows where you are."  
  
Cassanova frowned. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Helen's told me Tyche has sent a vampire hunter to kill you both. She's on her way even as I speak. I believe you know her, her name is Maria Pullman."  
  
* * * 


	19. Part 19

Part 19  
  
"How did you find me?" Maria eyed the shifter distrustfully. After being a slave in an enclave she kind of hand an issue with Night People, and found it almost impossible to trust any of them.   
  
"That's my secret," Tyche answered, "The question is, will you do it or not?"  
  
Maria thought about it. She had thought when she had first met Cassanova Redfern he would be the one to solve all her problems, he'd take her out of the enclave, into the real world, where everything would be okay and they would live happily ever after.  
  
How naive had she been? Cassanova's plan had been completely different to hers. She had been very reluctant to agree to the change, but he had convinced her it was the only way to go. Until she had risen as a vampire and they had been caught. He took her out the enclave and left her. Just *left* her all alone to deal with the new world and the new species.  
  
"Why do *you* want him dead?" Maria asked. Somehow Tyche had managed to track her down, she had agreed to the meeting, thinking she could take out the Drache Princess, but Tyche's actual intentions, turned out to be a surprise.  
  
Tyche knocked back what must be her fourth Expresso. Apparently thus black Iris they were in was the meeting place for the town's Night People. Which in Maria's opinion was kind of stupid, but that wasn't the issue here.  
  
"He betrayed me," Tyche's voice was soft. Maria heard the pain there. "I loved him. Because I'm a Drache, and with all this stupid Wild Power business they wanted me out the way. So I came here to live with my aunt and uncle. I made friends easily, just Night People wanting to get their name tied in with royalty. Then I met Cassanova." Tyche's expression became dreamy. "And - he was different. Treated me like a person, and I loved him. I *thought* he loved me, but obviously not." The dreamy look faded into one of bitterness and hatred. "Then this human comes along, and he starts acting weird."  
  
"And his solution is to make her a Night Person and everything will be okay?" Maria shook her head.   
  
"The clerk at the hotel he took her too and recognised him, you're name came up and with some contacts I tracked you down."  
  
~Some secret~ Maria thought, trying not to smile. But she could understand Tyche's anger and frustration. Cassanova deserved to be put out of commission. She had loved him once herself. And he'd changed her and abandoned her, and she hated him for that. Another innocent girl didn't deserve to have that happen to her.   
  
"He really lives up to his name, doesn't he?" she said sourly.   
  
Tyche didn't smile. "So you're going to kill him then?"   
  
"You're going to pay?" Maria had spent most of the time killing Night People like Tyche. Right now, for the right price, of course, she was willing to make a *big* exception.   
  
"$1 million," Tyche said bluntly. Her face had smoothed out, all emotions gone.  
  
"You've got yourself a deal."  
  
* * * 


	20. Part 20

Part 20  
  
Cathy woke with a smile that morning. She was a little sore in certain paces - but feeling too good to be bothered about it. She was in her way to becoming beautiful and immortal, and no longer a virgin. Helen would be proud of her.  
  
She got up, noticing the door to the room was slightly ajar. Cassanova was outside, talking to someone on a cell phone.   
  
"What?" he was saying. Looking like he'd just received the shock of his life. "But how?"  
  
Cathy watched him as he listened. She thought she recognised Tori's voice on the other line.  
  
"Coming *here*? Now?" His eyes closed. "Shit."  
  
Frowning, she wondered what was going on. Keeping quiet so she could listen.  
  
"That's *crazy*. We'll be slaughtered anyway."  
  
Cathy had the feeling that Tyche had caught them, somehow found out where they were and was on their way. She'd be coming for her revenge.  
  
"There has to - " Cassanova paused, extremely pissed off about something. "Where?" He paused, extremely pissed off about something. Then sighed and nodded. "Okay, see you there."  
  
He hung up, and saw her. "How much did you hear?"  
  
"Enough to know something's happened and I want to know what. And you're going to tell me." She wished she could fold her arms but she had to hold onto the bed sheet she was using to cover herself with.  
  
Cassanova was trying not to smile and failing. "Well, I don't have any other choice, do I, here or in the backup plan your friend Tori provided."  
  
Cathy felt herself smiling. She knew she could count on Tori. "Let's talk inside." Cathy took his hand and led him back inside, closing the motel room door.  
  
Cassanova couldn't see to sit down, so paced around instead. "Tyche has found us and hired a vampire hunter to kill us. She's on our way even as we speak."  
  
Cathy didn't say anything Yesterday she would have fallen into fits of giggles at people really calling themselves vampire hunters. But after what she had learned and done last night, it wasn't that funny anymore, and all very real.  
  
"I heard you before, you sounded like you didn't want to believe who it is."  
  
"I don't." He sighed. "Before I used to live in an enclave, it's a place where only Night People live and die by the Night World laws. Humans are food and slaves. I committed a capital offence punishable by death when I fell in love with my human slave. I changed her, and we were planning on running away together. Only I got caught. First I made sure she escaped. Then I was punished and banished from the enclave." He stopped pacing.  
  
Cathy wondered why he was telling her this. Then got it. "And she's coming here now to hunt us. Oh." She had understood the risks when she had agreed to be changed. The cruelty of these Night People officials scared her.   
  
"So what's Tori's backup plan?"  
  
Cassanova made a face. "There's another organisation like the Night World, known as Circle Daybreak. Only they're the good guys, they're trying to get the humans and Night People to live together in harmony."  
  
Cathy's eyebrow raised. It sounded a little too idealistic. "So it's Green Peace with fangs?"  
  
Cassanova chuckled. "That's one way of putting it. Not great, but it's the only place we can go and not be judged."  
  
Cathy nodded. "And making me a vampire?"  
  
"Once we've started we have to finish."  
  
Cathy got the distinct impression there was something he wasn't telling her. Well, it was pretty much a given the news wasn't going to be anything pleasant. "You might as well give me *all* the bad news at once."  
  
"If you die before the change is finished then you'll be a zombie."  
  
"Oh." Cathy didn't know what else to say. They sat there in awkward silence. For a few minutes before Cathy began to wonder why she was doing this. He had brought her here to change her because he was obsessively in love with her. She had always dismissed him as a boring jock, only to find he was so much more. She liked him, and had to admit now to be flattered that even after he could have had a Drache Princess - she was what he had wanted.  
  
Now Princess Psycho had her revenge plan in motion.  
  
As Cathy's thoughts deepened, she knew she didn't actually *love* Cassanova. She had been offered the power of being beautiful and immortal - what teen wouldn't jump at the offer?  
  
Now they were in a life or death situation. If they went home, they would be killed. If they stayed here, they would be killed. No matter how cookey this Circle Daybreak sounded, there was no second option.  
  
She had to continue with the change first, then think about her feelings for Cassanova. "I guess we should go then."  
  
Cassanova nodded. "Wait in the car and I'll go pay." He tossed her the keys and did just that.  
  
* * * 


	21. Part 21

Part 21  
  
She couldn't believe it when she saw him. At first she hadn't recognised him purely on sight, but later, looking at the name on the register - how many Cassanova Redferns could there be?  
  
The witch remembered the snobby vampire from the enclave she had once lived in. She had been one of the lucky ones able to escape the enclave.  
  
Anyway, she had heard rumours about a Cassanova Redfern supposedly in love with one of the human slaves, even stupid enough to try changing her.   
  
She had been at a party in the nearest town once, and a friend of a friend had mentioned his ex-girlfriend had met an unfortunate end with a vampire hunter. He seemed to think that was very funny. The joke, apparently, had been that he had hired the vampire hunter.  
  
The witch's friend had asked for the name, for future reference. The name had been Maria Pullman.  
  
And that had also been the name of Cassanova Redfern's human.  
  
Ironically enough, guess who had been at the party showing off his latest conquest, Tyche Drache? Getting in tough with Tyche was easy enough. The witch had another friend, Helen Mandrill, who knew Tyche. A third friend had known how to get hold of Maria and sent her to Tyche.   
  
How pissed would you be if you were a slave to a vampire, who knew it was illegal to change you, but went ahead and did it anyway *then* abandoned you when he got caught?  
  
She had disliked the way women were treated in the enclave, which was why she had sneaked away. She liked humans even less. And seeing Cassanova with a new human - it didn't take a genius to figure out what he was up to.  
  
The witch just couldn't imagine anyone was dumb enough to do it again if they'd screwed up the first time.   
  
Anyone who was *that* stupid deserved what they got. So if all had worked out, then Maria would be on her way to take care of the bastard for good. And his little human too.  
  
* * * 


	22. Part 22

Part 22  
  
"So they actually agreed?" Helen asked.  
  
Tori nodded. She didn't know why Cassanova hadn't listened to Jacina in the first place. Nor did she understand Helen, a good friend to Cathy one minute, then agreeing to kill her the next. What was the point?  
  
Helen shrugged uncomfortably. "It's just - well - hard to explain."  
  
It was a lame excuse that Tori hated hearing. In her opinion you were either a Daybreaker or a Night Worlder, you couldn't be both. It defeated the entire purpose of Circle Daybreak, if by the right offer you reverted back to the Night World.  
  
She had trusted and liked Helen up until now.  
  
"Explain anyway," she said, folding her arms. "Cathy's going to want an explanation."  
  
Helen sighed. "Well, I've been getting a lot of flack from my family because I decided to be friends with a human. They're full-bred Night People. They hate having a daughter who's debating on being a Daybreaker." Helen looked extremely uncomfortable.   
  
They were sitting in Helen's living room. Her mother was in the kitchen. Tori still wasn't satisfied. "And?"  
  
"And...well...I played the good vampire with the boys I dated, feeding on them and such, but then I got to know you guys, and started seeing things differently, and all humans weren't vermin." She paused, lowering her voice. "So when they thought I was too 'attached' was the word they used, they threatened to kick me out when I graduated unless I shared up. When Vulcan called, I guess I saw the opportunity to stay at home, and they'd pay for me to go to college. And - well - what would you have done?" Helen's tone was starting to get annoyed.  
  
"Oh." Tori didn't really know what to think.  
  
"Well, anyway they'll be on their way to the safe house right now." She frowned. "What are you going to tell Tyche when her vampire hunter finds them not there?"  
  
Helen shrugged. "I don't know."  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence. Cathy and Cassanova were going to have to finish making Cathy a vampire. No choice there. How Tyche had managed to find Maria was still a mystery to Toru, though even she had to admit, it was kind of impressive. And presented the problem of having to deal with her as well.  
  
"I'll give Tyche a random, empty safe house, she'll send her team, while you gather a Daybreaker team to take them out," Helen said, sounding almost excited. "Tyche's hell bent on revenge, she'll believe anything I tell her regarding Cassanova."  
  
Tori thought about it. "Okay, I guess there's no other plan at the moment." Oddly enough, she didn't feel any better.  
* * * 


	23. Part 23

Part 23  
  
When Maria arrived at the motel there was no one there who recognised Cassanova Redfern's name. They told her he'd already checked out. His room had been cleaned and there were no clues as to where he might have taken his human girl.  
  
It was the human girl she was more concerned about than anything. If Cassanova had already started to change her; then it would much easier to kill her as almost a vampire than to take a human life.   
  
If only there had been someone to do that for her. Maria sighed, still feeling she would have been better off if the Council had caught her and killed her.  
  
Now she was stuck as a vampire. A million dollars would change her life. All she had to do was find Cassanova and stake him. She took out her cell phone and called Tyche.   
  
"He's not here, he's gone."  
  
"I know. The desk clerk who recognised his name told me, but I don't know where."  
  
Maria scowled. They could be out the country by now for all she knew. "Well if you were escaping with a human where would you go?" she asked.  
  
Tyche laughed hollowly. "Don't know cause it would never happen."  
  
Maria hung up. She should have known calling Tyche would be a waste of time, her sanity seemed to be lapsing. "If you wanted to come along, Dallas, all you had to do was ask instead of hiding in the backseat."  
  
Dallas Redfern emerged from the shadowy corner of the empty motel room, smirking. "You knew I was there."  
  
Maria turned to look at him, shaking her head. Vampires were supposed to be intelligent, from what she knew. Though that opinion of them was dwindling fast. All the ones she had met were just nuts. "Of course I know, what the hell are you doing here?"  
  
"Do you know embarrassing it is to have a brother like Cassanova?" Dallas looked evenly back at her, shoving his hands into his jeans pocket. "The sooner he's dead, the better, right?"  
  
Maria nodded in agreement. She'd never worked with a vampire before, or even considered it. But Dallas was probably going to be her best shot at getting Cassanova. "Okay, yeah, I agree. So where are they?"  
  
Dallas grinned and shook his head. "I thought they'd be here."  
  
Maria's eyes rolled. "Who would know?"  
  
Dallas was quiet, and appeared to actually be thinking the problem over. He might even be able to add some constructive comments to the situation. "One of the vermin girl's friends is a vampire, Helen, they might tell her. She seemed kind of weird to me."  
  
Maria never understood why a vampire would want to be friends with a human if they were supposed to be enemies. Her cell phone was buzzing again.   
  
"I know where they are," Tyche sounded very pleased with herself. Okay, so maybe she had some use besides money. Maria fought back the insults that wanted to come streaming out her mouth.  
  
"So you sent us on a wild goose chase," she said through gritted teeth. "Where are they?"  
  
Tyche told her, and Maria hung up, heading for her car, muttering under her breath in anger about this waste of time. Dallas hurried after her.  
  
"Shall we flip a coin to see who gets to kill Cassanova?" he asked with a smirk.  
  
Maria ignored him as she gunned the engine and sped off. She was *so* going to enjoy staking Cassanova when she got her hands on the arrogant bastard.  
  
* * * 


	24. Part 24

Author's Note: Sorry for delay, but the good news is the fic is finally finished now, so no more waiting. Second thing, a huge thanks to everyone who's commented and have kept me going with this story, comments have been saved, loved and greatly, greatly appreciated.   
  
And finally to answer Ashlita's questions: The story was written with the idea that the people who would read the fic would know something about LJ Smith's Night World books and for those that have, lengthy explanations are kind of boring, and a prologue wouldn't have suited the style the story was written in. Vampires from the Night World age and grow like humans, but can stop ageing whenever they want, they can walk around freely in sunlight, don't fear crosses or holy water and don't need to be invited into a house, which is why Cathy and Cassanova can go to the same high school. If you want a slightly more detailed explanation about the Night World and some recommendations for Night World fan fics or the books themselves, email me at nova_redfern@yahoo.com   
Part 24  
  
Cathy couldn't seem to keep her eyes open. She had noticed there were no marks where Cassanova had bitten her, so at least no one should be able to know what was going on, then that meant they wouldn't be in any more trouble than they were already in.   
  
She yawned, trying to hide it, but couldn't seem to manage it. It wasn't like she hadn't slept all night, because she had, and she should be feeling really good, cause she had when that vampire blood had soared through her last night.  
  
She'd never felt that energised before, she had felt new and full of life, she had been sure there was nothing she couldn't do. Now she felt sleepy and vague, she couldn't seem to get a constructive sentence together without trailing off or ending up babbling.   
  
"Are we there yet?" she asked, though she couldn't remember if she'd asked that before.  
  
"Yeah, you've been here for the last two hours."  
  
The female voice was a new one she hadn't heard before was talking to her. Cathy opened her eyes to find herself in a small single bed, covered by a pretty blue and white duvet. The walls of the room were painted a soft sky blue, the carpet a pale cream colour, the furniture was all made of the same light coloured wood. The girl sitting in a rocking chair beside her bed seemed kind of tall, her cheeks pink her eyes a bright green, soft black hair fell around her shoulders in tight curls. "Who're you?"   
  
"Freesia Jojoba, one of the Circle Daybreak witches, you're in you the new safe house."  
  
"Oh. Am I a vampire yet?" Cathy wondered how long this change was going to take. On TV it took one exchange of blood and a night of being buried and waking up and you were undead. Why couldn't this be easy like that?   
"You need one more exchange which will happen later," Freesia the witch explained.  
  
"Is Cassanova here?" Cathy realised there were still things she needed to talk to him about, but couldn't really recall what they were right now. When she was finally right they'd all come back to her. Or at least, she hoped they would.   
  
"Yes, he's talking with some people downstairs, you're going to be fine here."  
  
Cathy didn't feel fine. She wished she could think clearly. They'd been running cause someone was going to do something if they didn't get away, and Cassanova hadn't been too pleased about coming here, but were they really okay?  
  
"Um, what am I supposed to do now?" she asked the witch. That was...should she be shocked that she was talking to a witch and being okay with being a vampire? It all seemed really...hadn't she had all these worries before?  
  
"Just relax, there's not much you can do while the change is happening, unfortunately," Freesia said. "We can put the TV on, or some music if you like."  
  
"I think I want to get this over and done with now," Cathy said, sinking back into the pillows. There was all the bother about thinking of what to do after she'd woken up as a vampire.   
  
"I'll go get Cassanova." She left the room, leaving Cathy alone.   
  
* * *  
  
Helen waited impatiently, tired of Tyche's endless pacing. Wo4rd had come from Maria that she was on her way to the safe house, and apparently Dallas Redfern had gone with her as well, which was actually a good thing.  
  
She'd also heard from Tori that Cassanova and Cathy were safe as well. At least for the time being. That only left the problem of Tyche to deal with.   
  
They were back in Tyche's mansion, sitting ion the kitchen, which was sparklingly clean. Almost too clean for Helen's liking. She was guessing this was where Tyche had killed Jacina.  
  
"What's taking so long?" Tyche said, throwing down the fork she had been toying with.  
  
Helen forced herself to shrug blandly. "Maybe she's captured him and is enjoying torturing him."  
  
Tyche smiled faintly. "I guess, but Maria's smart enough to know that if that actually does happen, then I want in on it."  
  
"Do you really need me here?" Any longer in Tyche's presence at the moment and Helen was sure she'd go crazy with tension.   
  
Tyche shook her head. "I guess not."  
Helen breathed a sigh of relief and left the kitchen. If she killed Tyche, then she would have to deal with Tyche's pain in the ass friend. She doubted Nemesis and Ceres would stand by and watch her kill Tyche. Vulcan at least, didn't seem to be making a nuisance of himself. He'd found himself some new witch to latch onto and she was keeping him occupied. So that was one less idiot to worry about.  
  
She gritted her teeth as she saw Nemesis's car pulling up in the driveway. ~Oh great~ she thought moodily. Maybe when she got back to Tori's she'd get some good news, something to cheer her up. Nemesis and Ceres got out the car, both were actually smiling very odd, curious smiles. Helen frowned, wondering what they were up to. "Should I even ask?"  
  
"Tyche's driving us nuts, there's going to be an unfortunate - accident," Nemesis answered.  
  
Helen's eyebrow rose, she was trying hard not to smile herself, but wasn't doing a very good job of it. "I thought you guys liked Tyche, you're supposed to be her best friends."  
  
Ceres shrugged. "We were, up until all this stupid Cassanova business. She's already killed Jacina cause the girl happened to annoy her, it's technically not safe to let her live. Anyway, you were going to kill Cathy cause Vulcan asked. But that hasn't happened."  
  
Helen frowned. "How'd you guys - "   
  
Nemesis snorted. "Give us some credit, we're not totally stupid. We did figure it out. You keep our secret, we'll keep yours."  
  
Helen wasn't so sure she could trust them, but considering what they had told her which she could technically use for blackmail if she wanted, it seemed to make sense. Besides, there wasn't really much they could do about her. So she had helped Cathy and Cassanova escape Tyche and her nutty plans. Big deal. But for the time being, she might as well agree.  
  
"Whatever," was all she said as she left the mansion, finally allowing herself a small smirk.  
  
* * *  
Maria was getting an extremely bad feeling when she arrived at the safehouse Tyche had sent her to. The place was dark and looked deserted. She couldn't sense any living things around it. Chills were running up her spine.  
  
"Something's not right here," Dallas said. Even he had managed to pick up on it as well. He had gotten out of the car anyway. "We've been set up."  
  
"You think?" Maria approached the house cautiously, no room for snotty comments at the moment. She needed her wits about her, needed to concentrate, as it looked like Dallas was exactly right.  
  
Dallas however, was grinning viciously. "So they've sent a couple of dumb Daybreakers, it's not like we can't handle that, right?"  
  
* * * 


	25. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
The change was finally complete. So everything didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped it would, but I did get what I longed for in the end. After everything that happened to me in between, I can finally relax and be happy.  
  
Word came from Tori not so long ago that the Daybreak vampire hunters she had called had taken care of Maria and Dallas. Sort of a shame really, I would have liked the chance to see Maria again, talk to her, try and explain why I did what I did, but it's over, and on the bright side, she can finally be at peace now.   
  
Tori also mentioned that Tyche had been killed when her house caught fire unexpectedly. She'd been trapped inside and had never managed to get out. No one was too broken up about that. I heard the House of Drache aren't too pleased and suspect possible foul play, but since Tyche was evil anyway, I don't know if they're really all that bothered.  
  
I had been hoping all along that tell-tale spark of white light would burst in at some point, or even the shocking pink lightning effect, something that would indicate some sort of soulmate connection. The time for it to spring would have been when Cathy and I first exchanged blood and made love. But it didn't.  
  
She's dealing with the change okay, we've stayed in the Daybreak safe houses, the witches are helping her handle the Night World, and another made vampire has come in to help her with that.  
  
As for Cathy and I...we're together at least, even if she hasn't actually said she loves me. She's a Night Person now, and we have eternity for her to love me.  
  
THE END. 


End file.
